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Waste Reduction Toolkit

Waste Reduction

Waste reduction means decreasing the amount of materials needed in the first place so that volumes of garbage and recyclable materials are reduced.

The links below are guides prepared by the King County Green Schools Program to facilitate school waste reduction efforts.The remaining links are to King County Solid Waste Division or other web sites that include waste reduction information or tips.

Also refer to the level one criteria (Microsoft Word document, 83 K) of the King County Green Schools Program for a variety of additional ideas about how to reduce waste at school.

School wide

• Organize and hold a School Swap Day (PDF, 23 K) to facilitate the reuse of books and other items.
• Organize and hold a “Zero Waste” cubby or locker clean out (PDF, 32 K) to facilitate reuse and recycling at the end of the school year.
• See the “End of School Year Check List Calendar” (PDF, 76 K) for other ideas about reducing, reusing and recycling.
• Educate students and staff about how waste reduction and recycling conserve resources and save money.

Classroom and office

• Reduce (PDF, 52 K) or eliminate unwanted newspaper subscriptions and unwanted mail.

Lunchroom, kitchen and break room

• Encourage students and staff to bring lunches in durable containers. See waste free lunches (external) for tips on waste free lunches
• If your school uses disposable polystyrene lunch trays (PDF, 48 K), consider using durable or compostable lunch trays.
• Compost food scraps on-site using worm bins or other methods. Also see “How To Care for Your Worm Bin over the Summer”.
• Donate edible food. The national Good Samaritan Food Donation Act encourages the donation of food to nonprofit organizations for distribution to needy individuals. See "Food Donation Guidelines" (PDF, 47 K) and “Food Donations with Food Lifeline and Northwest Harvest” (PDF, 32 K) which includes contact information for these organizations.  Read the success story (PDF, 31 K) about how five school districts donated edible food with the help of King County's Green Schools program.

Restroom

• Use air dryers instead or cloth towel rolls instead of paper.
• Use foam soap and foam soap dispensers (PDF, 80 K)

Landscaping and grounds

• Compost leaves, grass clippings and other yard waste.
• Leave grass clippings in place to provide nutrients to the lawn

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